CriticalEssayAssignment

Usingsemiotictextualanalysistodecodethisadsmeaning,thisessayaimstoshare
someoftheunderlyingideologicalmessagesinthisLexusprintadvertisement.ThisLexus
advertisementappearedinlate2012promotingtheirnewredesignedLexusLSSedan.Thetarget
ofthisad,accordingtoForbesMagazine,wastoattractahippercrowdintobuyingtheircar.
Thisessayintendstodivedeeperintohowthedenotations,connotations,contextandthe
anchorageofthisadappealstoupperclass,stylishconsumers,butalsohasadditionalideological
messagesongender,class,styleandage.
Accordingtooxforddictionary,semioticsis
thestudyofsignsandsymbolsandtheir
useorinterpretation.sothisessaywilllookatthesignsandsymbolsofthisad,startingwith
someofthemorebasicsymbolisminthead,itsdenotative,orcommonsensemeaning
(O'ShaugnessyandStadler).Lookingatthead,thefirstthingthatcapturestheviewersattention
isthecarinthemiddleofthepicture.Itissilver,anditisbuffedtothepointwherelightreflects
ofit,givingitashinelikethatofapolishedtrophy.Onthecarscentergrill(andalsointhevery
centeroftheaditself)istheLexuslogo.Toeachsideofthecarisacouple,awomanontheleft
andamanonaright,dressedsophisticatedforanevent.Belowthecaristheanchorage,thefirst
linereadsTheworldisastage,makeitamemorableperformance.withmemorable
performanceinamuchlargerfontthantherestoftheparagraph.Thentheprecedingparagraph

describesthedetailsandfeaturesofthecar,withthelexuslogoappearingattheendofthe
paragraph.Attheverybottomoftheadisthedisclaimer,writteninsosmallofafontthatitis
hardtoreadwithoutzoominginonthatpartofthead.Inthebackground,theroadthecarrests
onhasnaryacrackandhasalmostasheenofpolishedmarbleratherthanasphalt.Thebuilding
behindthemhassoftlightingandhaslotsofpolishedglass.Insidethebuildingarethe
silhouettesofmanypeople.
Howeverwhentheviewermovesbeyondsomeofthecommonsensesymbolism,and
readsintotheadsconnotations,themessagethatLexuswantstosendcomesthrough.Thefirst
isthelocationofwherethisadtakesplace.Everythingissleekandsmooth,givingtheplacea
glamorousfeelthatsuggeststhepeoplewhoarethere,includingthecouple,arerichand
stylish.Thelightingwithitsoverheadfluorescentsquaressuggestsadancefloor,andthusthe
viewercanreadintothisandassociatethisplacewiththatofanupscaleclub.
Thecoupleitselfshowsmanysignsthattheyarerichandstylishaswell.Themaniswell
groomed,withawelltrimmedbeardandwearsasuit,butnotatie.Themanstighthaircutand
wellmaintained,trimmedbeardimpliesthatheismanly,yetprofessional.Abeardisasignof
masculinityinAmericanculture,buttohavealongoruntrimmedbeardimpliesthelifestyleof
anoutdoorsman(ThinkaloggerorDuckDynasty).Themanssuitimpliesthatheis
professionalandstylish,buthislackofatiealsoimpliesadegreeofcasualnessinhislook.The
tieisoftenseeninAmericancultureasaveryformalgarment,wornforeventssuchasbanquets,
proms,andbusinessmeetings.Amanthatwearsasuitbutnotiewouldbeasignheiswantsto
lookgood,butatthesametimewantstorelaxandhavefun.
Thewomanherselfisdressedupalsoinastylishyetnotentirelyformalsortofway.Her
dressendsjustabovetheknees,inthestyleofacocktaildress,whichistypicallywornwhen
goingoutbutnotlookingsuperformal.Shewearshighheelsandclutchesapurse,twoadditional
signsthatsheisdressingupfortheevent.Herhairiswavyandworndown,whichoften
impliesthatsheputeffortintoherhairbygoingtoasalonandhavingitworkedontogetthat
wavylook.Thehairbeingworndownalsoimpliesthatsheisgoingforayoungandcarefree
look.InAmericanculturewomenweartheirhairdownatadancetobeseenasyoung,energetic,
andsexyastheirhairbouncesaboutastheydance.
Thecaritself,whichisatthecenterofthead,hasseveralconnotativemessagesaswell.
Thecar,beingbuffedtothepointofhavingaglossyshine,ismadetolookappealingtothe
viewer.Shiny,polishedobjectsareoftenseenasthingstoobtainassymbolsofwealthor
success,liketreasureoratrophy.Soitiswiththiscar,itisthetrophythatyouneedtobuyto
showyouhavethesethings.Withthecar,thevieweralsoseesthattheheadlightsareon,andthat
thecarispointedstraighton.Thisgivestheimpressionthatthecarislookingrightatyou,the
viewer,andsayingatthesametime,cmon,Iknowyouwanttobuyme.
Alsoimportanttoanalyzeistheadsratherlargeanchorage,nearlyaparagraphlong.The
anchoragebeginswiththesentence,Theworldisyourstage.Makeitamemorable
performance..ThislinereferencesanoldShakespearequote,Alltheworldsastage,andall
themenandwomenmerelyplayers.Bothlinesplaywiththeideathatourlivesarean
opportunitytoshowtheworldwhatwehave,allofourskillandtalentbeforewemakeourexit,
verymuchlikeastageperformance.ThequoteinthelexusAdtakesthisconceptonestep
furtherbysayingthatyouneedtomakeyourlifememorable,thatitneedstobeunique,larger
thanlife,andwhatyouneedtomakeithappenisabrandnewLexus.
Theparagraphgoesontodescribethefeaturesofthelexus,usinggreatdetailtomakethe

carsoundappealing.Thislexushasahandstitched,leathertrimmedinteriorandaluminum
accents.Thenextlineonceagainplaysofthememorableperformancemotif,Thenthe
spotlightturnstoperformance,andthe19inchforgedalloywheels,Bremofrontbrakes,
driveradjustablesporttunedairsuspensionandeightspeedtransmissionwithraceinspired
paddleshiftersbegintoshine.Thentheparagraphconcludeswith,Allofittogetherdemands
anencore.SuchastatementreinforcestheentiremessageLexuswantstoleavewithitsviewer,
thatonthestageoflife,havingthisnewlexuswillmakeyoustandout,showoffyourwealthand
influence,andhaveotherswantingmore,likeanencore.Andsoyoudontforgetwhocanhelp
youmakeamemorableperformance,Lexusputstheirlogorightattheendoftheparagraph.
Nowalladshaveatargetaudience,thedemographicthatismostlikelytoseetheirad
andbuyit.InMediaandSociety,authorsMichaelO'shaughnessyandJaneStadlerstate,the
mediaworkasahailing,interpellatingsystem.Thewaytheyaddressus,constantlyinterpellates
usThisisparticularlytrueoftelevisionandradio,wherethereisoftenadirectaddressbythe
announcerstoyou,thelistener.Suchmodesofaddressgiveusouridentitiesand
subjectivities.Sowhoisbeingdirectlyaddressedintheadandwhatdoesitsayabouttheir
identity?Herethetargetaudienceseemstobewealthy,upperclassprofessionalsintheir30sand
40s,especiallymen.Theadsglamourousfeelwithitsupscalelocation,welldressedcoupleand
luxurycarallappealstoawealthier,youngerdemographic.Themiddleclassandlowerclass
wouldhaveahardtimeidentifyingwiththescenepicturedhere.Allofthethingsshowninthe
admeetwhattheexpectationisforamiddleagedwealthymanorwoman:tolookgood,tohave
funsocializingateventswithotherrichpeople,andtohaveexpensivethings(likealuxurycar).
Theadwantstotellyouthatyouridentityisfoundinhavingthesethings,andifyoudont,you
needtogetit,especiallythenewlexus.
Theadalsohasideologicalmessagesongender.Thereadercaninfertheadisbeing
targetedmoretomenbecauseofwherethemanisplacedinthead.Heisplacedonthedrivers
side.Thedriverssideisseenasapositionofauthorityinmanysocietiesbecausewhoeveris
drivingisseenastheleader.Thedriverdirectshis/herpassengerstotheirdestination.Also
noticethegazesofthecoupleinthephoto.Thewomansisdirectedrightattheman,asifsheis
waitingtofollowhislead,whilethemanlooksoutintothedistance,asifheismoreconcerned
onwhathewilldonext.Thisfavoringofthemanintheadisreinforcedbythecommon
Americanideologythatthemanistheproviderforthefamily,andthustheonewhowillbe
buyingtheLexus.Throughallofthisthereaderseesafavoringoftheman,andatthesametime
hintsonwhattheidentityofamanshouldbe:successful,theleader,andthepatriarch.
OverallthisLexusadcontainsmanycommonconventionsofmodernAmericansociety
tosellitsproduct.Itknowswhoitsaudienceis,anditpaintsthemascenethatshowsthemhow
theircarfitsintotheirlives(orthelifetheywanttohave).Withitsrepeatedmessagesoftying
inowninganewluxurycarwithpowerandsuccess,itfurtherreinforcestheconsumerist
messageoftheAmericanmedia.Ultimatelynothingnewisseenhere,asallofthesethingshave
beendonebeforeinadvertising,thustheadendsupofbeingoneofmanythatcreatesavision
withinitsaudiencesmindthattheirlifeisbetterwiththeproduct.

Bibliography

Paula,MatthewDe."LexusPursuesHipperCrowdWithNewAdsForItsLSSedan."
Forbes
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ForbesMagazine,31Oct.2012.Web.21Sept.2013.

"DefinitionofSemiotics."
Semiotics:DefinitionofSemioticsinOxfordDictionary
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Dictionaries,n.d.Web.21Sept.2013.

O'Shaugnessy,MichaelandJaneStadler.
MediaandSociety
.SouthMelbourne:Oxford
UniversityPress,2012.